The Beginner’s Guide to Logo Design.

Part Six

You have an amazing logo. What’s next?

If you’ve followed along for the past couple of sections (especially the last one), you’ve thought hard about what your company stands for and what your logo represents in the eyes of your customers. You’ve decided which kind of logo is best for your company—iconic, typographic, or a combination of the two. And you’ve taken a few minutes to create a great logo using our free online Logomaker.

Now the question is…

What should I do with my logo?

Well, the sky is the limit. You can check out our Put Your Logo to Work page for lots of ideas on how you can use your logo to grow your business.

But how you use your logo really depends on the kind of business you are running. A restaurant owner will want to put her logo on everything from the menu and store signage to staff uniforms (t-shirts, golf shirts, or full outfits). A consultant may only need a logo on his business card and website. Think about where your customers should see your logo and make a list.

Let’s start with the basics—business cards and letterhead.

Most small business owners use business cards as a handout at conferences, to new customers and potential partners, and to drop in those “win a free lunch” bowls at your favorite eatery. Here’s how to put your logo on a business card:

First, start by downloading the EPS file for your logo. This is a special file that is used by professional printers for everything from business cards to posters. You won’t be able to open this file without special design software, but your printer can open it. Some online printers prefer working with a JPG or PNG. If that’s the case, download those files (make sure you get the large) from your Logomaker account as well.

Next, visit your printer, either online or off. We highly recommend these guys (they’re who we use to print our business cards) and they have a lot of experience working with files from Logomaker. But you can use your files with any printer of your choice.

Choose a template from the printer’s collection, upload your logo, and add your contact information to the card. In most cases, you’ll receive your card order within seven days of approving the final artwork. If you choose to use a local printer, you may get your cards even faster.

Shirts, mugs, pens, notebooks, and a lot more.

You can put your logo on just about anything. Need poker chips for a company party? How about hats for your employees? Decals for your vehicles? Ever wanted to put your logo on a can of soda? Our promotional products partner has done it all—umbrellas, first aid kits, stress relievers, tote bags, and more.

Want to put your logo design on a green sequin fedora with flashing LEDs? They can even do that. Download the EPS file from your Logomaker account, then click here for more information.

Putting your logo on a website.

A strong online presence is critical for most small businesses. Creating a great looking website doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. And creating an awesome Facebook presence (and pages on other social media sites) where you can reach out to your customers is easier than ever. Here’s how:

Start by downloading one of the JPG or PNG files from your Logomaker account. Choose the size you need based on the space you have to work with. We generally recommend the medium or small sizes for most online uses. If you need a website, click here to try an easy site builder tool where you can choose a template, change colors, easily add pages, update text and photos, and in most cases, be live in less than 30 minutes.

Some website builders have rigid requirements for file sizes. If you can provide us with the exact pixel dimensions, we can usually help you get a custom size image. For this service, email support@logomaker.com with your request and we’ll try to create what you need (depending on the work involved, there may be a small fee).

Before you go, you may want to log into your Logomaker account and download all of your logo files and keep them in a safe place. We’ll also keep them on file if you need to come back again, but it’s always a good idea to have all the files ready when you need them.

That’s it. No more lessons. But if you like what you learned, you’ll want to consider signing up for our free small business newsletter. It’s full of useful marketing ideas and offers that will help you grow your business. To sign up, click here.